Camping at a hop farm is one unique experience

This past weekend, Porter Pounder and I got the opportunity to camp overnight at the Santa Fe Brewing Hop Farm. SFBC sales rep Silas Sims rounded up a small group and led us up there. For those who have no idea where it is at, the farm is located in Rinconada, along the highway between Espanola and Taos. Blue Heron Brewing is right next door, so if you know where that is, the hop farm is just to the east.

We could discuss all that we saw (rabbits!) and heard (really annoying crows at the crack of dawn!) and tasted (so many SFBC beers, some with fresh Neo Mexicanus hops added), but this is one of those stories best told in pictures.

HopFarm1 — The camping area is just down the hill from where the hops are growing.

HopFarm2 — Billy from 10 Drink Minimum checks out the Rio Grande. Remarkably, no one fell into the water.

HopFarm4 — The hop farm is still in its infancy, but some of the plants are already producing quite a lot.

HopFarm5 — Insert the lyrics for Social Distortion’s Reach for the Sky here.

HopFarm8 — It took some work, but Monica, left, and Samantha eventually convinced the dogs to check out the river.

HopFarm9 — As the sun began to set, we enjoyed the peaceful tranquility of it all … while listening to Rage Against the Machine.

HopFarm10 — The dogs debate whether or not to jump into Porter Pounder’s hammock.

HopFarm11 — This was just the beginning of the wood pile for the night’s fire pit.

And good night after another great NM sunset.

Take note, if you were expecting drunken shenanigan photos, none of that happened until after dark. And our phone batteries died. Hallelujah for that, right?

Thanks again to Silas, Monica, and the rest of our fellow campers. It was a blast. Except for those damn crows. The Brew Crew is not made up of morning people!

Cheers!

— Stoutmeister